Performance-Based Fire Safety Design – a recently released
book by Morgan Hurley and Eric Rosenbaum from CRC Press and our very own
SFPE – provides the reader with a thorough yet concise introduction to
performance-based design (PBD). Compiled from fire protection
engineering courses taught at the University of Maryland (UMD),
Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) and Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo
(SLO), the book can benefit both college students just beginning their
careers and industry professionals in the midst of theirs alike. The
authors suggest just as much in the preface in stating their two primary
purposes for the book: as a textbook on PBD and a reference for PBD
practitioners. It succeeds in both regards, while probably being most
successful as a real-world reference. In either case, it serves as an
excellent complement to the SFPE Engineering Guide to Performance-Based Fire Protection with actual implementation examples.

Subdivided into 12 chapters, Performance-Based Fire Safety Design
takes the reader step-by-step through the analysis associated with PBD.
It begins with an introduction to PBD – which notes the concept had its
genesis in the 1970s – before outlining the design process. With
enlightening examples of both the qualitative and quantitative kind, the
text contributes additional depth to otherwise straightforward
technical information, although more examples would certainly benefit
the book when used as a textbook.

In
terms of examples, they could benefit from additional support
information. An early occurrence in the Hazard and Risk chapter
showcases a seven-step hazard assessment methodology from Hurley and
Bukowski; however, the solution only draws parallels to six of the steps
(In fact, the book itself lists eight steps but inexplicably skips a
missing Step 5). Regardless, the example would be even more effective if
a parallel to all steps were provided in the solution. Similarly, a
12-step quantative fire risk assessment methodology outlined later in
the same chapter would be well-served by a similar presentation with its
associated example. But these are minor qualms since even the inclusion
of these examples helps convey the practical application of the PBD
concepts – a thoughtful method of presentation on the part of the
authors.

Chapters include expanded
discussions on detection and suppression design, smoke control and fire
resistance – three basic tenets for fire protection engineering. Other
chapters cover design fires and scenarios, fire testing and human
behavior, while the book concludes with chapters detailing PBD
documentation and concepts associated with the determination of
uncertainty. The Fire Testing chapter is particularly beneficial as this
type of information tends to be scattered and is an important area of
understanding in the practical application of fire/life safety
provisions that tends to be gleaned over in a large number of practicing
engineers’ backgrounds. Any opportunity to communicate more about the
basics of rudimentary fire tests is welcome.

Readers
(both students and professionals) would most likely benefit the most by
reading this book in conjunction with the SFPE guide from which it is
heavily influenced. In fact, the process outlined in the SFPE Guide is
recapped early on and referenced throughout. But the authors also draw
other sources, including the PBD provisions of NFPA 101 – The Life Safety Code (in the Design Fire Scenarios chapter), Klote and Milke’s seminal smoke control work and multiple chapters from the SFPE Handbook of Fire Protection Engineering. In this regard, Performance-Based Fire Safety Design
serves as a single-source, quick-reference compilation of PBD-related
concepts while providing the user numerous opportunities for additional
reading and research.

While Performance-Based Fire Safety Design
is a primer on PBD, it can also be considered an introduction to fire
protection engineering design in general. In fact, an industry novice
should be able to complete the book with very little prior knowledge – a
trait well-suited for its use as a textbook. And while strewn with
engineering equations, a working knowledge of mathematics without an
advanced degree should suffice in order to apply most of the information
contained within.

A quick read
weighing in at less than 200 pages, the book provides a variety of
references for further reading while being a self-contained resource
unto itself. An index furthers the book’s efficacy. For newcomers, Performance-Based Fire Safety Design
can become an eventually dog-eared tome to build a library around; for
veterans, a majority of the research and equations outlined should be
familiar but one can never be reminded enough of the building blocks of
fire protection upon which our industry is based. And the book
accomplishes this in the context of lessons on PBD.

About SFPE

SFPE is a global organization representing those practicing in the fields of fire protection engineering and fire safety engineering. SFPE’s mission is to define, develop, and advance the use of engineering best practices; expand the scientific and technical knowledge base; and educate the global fire safety community, in order to reduce fire risk. SFPE members include fire protection engineers, fire safety engineers, fire engineers, and allied professionals, all of whom are working towards the common goal of engineering a fire safe world.